This Time!
by TediousExploit
Summary: Taylor seeks revenge. Sadly the universe has other plans...
1. Chapter 1

Time passes at a rate subjective to the perceiver. To some, minutes can last forever. To others they pass as swiftly as blinking.

Routine has made a mockery out of your perception of time. Day in, day out, you stick to your same rut. Never noticing how each passing day feels slightly quicker than the last. As it happens you hardly need to notice or care for change to find your rut. A bump on the path that is your life. careening you off towards the unexpected.

Today began the same as any other day you can recall. You awoke to your alarm clock blaring, Invading the remains of your dreams.

You rose to a grey tinted room. The morning light, just starting to fill it. taking in the waking world, you were brought to your senses by the smell of freshly cooked bacon. You couldn't get to the kitchen fast enough.

"Good morning Taylor, its refreshing to see you so excited on a school day" Your dad spoke, without turning around from the stove.

You of course only nodded placatingly, mouth already filled with hot bacon. pleasantrys could wait, where as the cruel grasp of thermodynamics waits for no man.

Your dad turned around and stared you dead in the eye. "You haven't been yourself ever since you got out of the hospital" He spoke with a tone that implied there was a question there.

Ugh, if you didn't speak up now he'd think something was wrong. "I'm doing better, I think seeing Dr. Carol has really helped."

Your dad continued to stare at you as if to ascertain the veracity of your statement. Finally, maybe having found something on your face or taking pity on you, he nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" you asked hesitantly.

Ever since the incident he would never give up a chance to hound or ambush you for answers. But what could you do? tell him your best friend Emma had made it her lifes personal mission to inflict as much pain and embarrassment on you as possible? Even thinking about the constant insults and pranks, made your stomach feel hollow and your skin break out into a sweat.

"Its okay. maybe one of these days you'll want to talk about how you ended up in that locker full of used feminine products, and I'll be here. or maybe you'd rather talk to Dr. Carol?" He confirmed hollowly as he turned back around.

You frowned at your plate, hoping to avoid more awkward conversation. You'd been in that locker for what felt like hours, but as most the staff who had responded to your screaming can attest to. You were only in there for 10 seconds at most. making your freakout and hospitalization all the more embarrassing.

You're not certain how she did it, but you know it was Emma. The fact that no one saw her do it is just par for course. Just like no one saw her steal your mothers necklace, or dump juice in your seat. No, if theres one thing this last year of bullying has taught you its that Emma knows how to cover her tracks.

"Well its time for me to head to work. Stay safe on your run and have a good day at school, I love you." you dad said while looking at his watch.

"I... love you too." you mumble while watching him go.

You hate how stilted things have become between you two, but all that will change when you remove the root of your problems.

Emma must go. Decision reaffirmed, you stand and prepare to enter your battlefield of choice, Highschool.


	2. Chapter 2

You enter the school still covered in sweat from your run. Wearing baggy jeans and a sweater is a daily affair for you.

Walking through the beige halls you can hear a constant buzz of background conversation, that only make the silence around you more noticeable. All around friends meet friends and talk about the weekend . You don't look at their faces. Your eyes are locked on the ground. You wouldn't find a friendly one anyways. So its forgivable that you didn't notice Emma and her followers near your locker.

You quickly enter your combination and jerk your locker open, only to be sprayed in powder. Everyone around you is ogling your newly white form. Emma is laughing hysterically behind you. You spin around coming to the obvious conclusion. Fists clenched and face red, you yell out "Why!" at Emma

This sets Sophia and Madison to laughing as well. Your face grows a shade redder almost visible through the powder. Although this doesn't hide the tears rolling down your face

"Whats wrong? I think you look better this way, don't you agree?" Emma tells you from behind her hand.

You wish you could go back and make it so you were never friends with her.

That's when the world starts to shift. Events slowly flowed backwards. Noise vibrated out of you and away. Your fists unclenched. Tears were sucked back into your eyes. Flour was sucked back into your locker. You watched it all horrified and unable to move a muscle as you walked backwards.

The world finally let you go with a jolt as you were a few minutes prior, standing at the entrance to the school staring at the ground. Your eyes widened, as you knew exactly what this meant. You're a cape! You must have triggered at some point.

Not wanting to make a scene you kept walking your normal path. You look around at tired, teen faces and see that no one but you even noticed. The entire experience was subjective.

Your first thought was to try and get as fit as you could and maybe take a first aid course for your inevitable debut as a rogue cape, but then you shook that thought away. No amount of training would make you as strong as Alexandria or let you heal wounds like a cape with those powers. You should play to your strengths, which are... going back in time. as someone who can go back in time you think that's a great strength. You just need to hone it, and the best way to do that is practice. Luckily your school comes with three in built practice targets. You just need to figure out how to leverage your powers against them.

You pass your locker by, knowing what waits there, and glare at Emma's back.

Entering your English classroom promptly, you go to turn in your homework... only to remember its still in your locker. Even that fact can't bring you down from the joy of finding out your a cape.

The bell rings so you sit down and then immediately jolt back up. Someone had gone to the trouble of spilling some red juice all over your chair. Usually the trio aren't so proactive in their pranks. Normally you would sullenly accept this then move on with your day, but today's no normal day you smirk. You wish you could go back. The world stills in response to your desires and then reverses. The visual Isn't as jarring this time but what time reversal does to sound still upsets you on some fundamental level. the world comes to a halt and subsequently resumes 2 minutes ago when you were walking past your locker.

You grin broadly. You haven't been this happy since you went to that fair with your mom. Mom... You wonder if you can go back and change it all. Prevent that car accident from ever happening. Maybe you'd break all your moms phones and prevent her from ever texting again just for good measure. Why else would you be given this gift if you couldn't change the moment your life started to go wrong.

You wish you could go back... and nothing happens. You spend the next few minutes wishing, willing and praying you could go back. Still nothing changes. Even as the hallways start to clear, Emma leaving in a huff when you don't open your locker, nothing changes. That is until you around the time the bell rings. Events reverse again, this time two minutes of being forced to stand still in a hallway. The world lets you go right where it did last time, standing next to your personal tormenters and a locker rigged to explode with flour. This time you don't even need public humiliation to start to cry, shattered dreams work twice as well. You aren't upset because your powers have limits. Your upset you got your hopes up again. You thought would get better.

You rub your tears into your sleeve. Then turn around and walk out of the school having decided to give today up as a loss. Well maybe not a whole loss. You have powers to explore, a costume to procure, and most importantly a vengeance to plot.


	3. Chapter 3

You came home to an empty house. You're not poverty poor, but your father doesn't make much at the dock workers union and it shows in your house. The yards in disrepair, some of the wirings faulty, and there's never much food around. Your mom was always the real bread winner, and her loss had a large effect on even the smallest of things in your home.

You decide to turn the radio on for some small improvement in the ambiance while you think. You want to pull some mean pranks on Emma, like she has been doing with you. With your new found power, there's no way you could get caught in the act. You know she values how others perceive her. Her modeling job and constant shopping sprees are evidence enough of that. Maybe you could scratch her car, or destroy her pool. But you know Emma's not stupid, the moment you tried strike out against her. The very second you try and change the status quo, Emma will retaliate, and she can be conniving.

No, if you ever want to get even with her, you'll have to do it from a position of strength. You've heard the best revenge is living well, but you don't believe that. However if you were a hero no one would question you. Your word hold far more weight than some rich teenager. If a hero accused Emma of locking some poor girl up in a waste filled locker, who would Emma be to say otherwise. Becoming a ward however, might just be trading one shitty situation for another. No its best to stay independent for now. You were already thinking of being a hero just to use your power, but with this new fringe benefit, you have no more doubts. Once you're a hero, you'll give Emma every underhanded insult, Every dirty prank she deserves! Then, when she tries to punch down on poor, innocent Taylor, some hero might catch her red handed. You grin just thinking of it.

Being a hero might be a bit more complicated then that. You're just an ordinary girl, outside of your ability to repeat things until they go your way. Someone like Lung or Kaiser wouldn't lose or even break a sweat beating you, no matter how many attempts you made. You need a weapon and armor, to even have a chance at taking down some of the better capes of Brockton Bay. You know normal munitions don't hurt Brutes as tough as Lung. You need something special to take down the biggest and baddest villains, and you know just where to find it.

Your local PRT is lead by a tinker, Gunmaster or something. You bet he has loads of awesome tech just lying around. He probably wouldn't even mind if you took some, if he knew that you we're going to use it to protect the innocent. It'll be like he's fighting twice as much crime. He'll be so grateful!

You can't ask for it because he doesn't trust you... yet! but you're totally trustworthy. You're completely dedicated to righting wrongs and stuff, so you'll just have to borrow it without asking. You can't just enter a secure PRT facility like the oil rig off the coast, but they let in tour groups to the public section of it everyday. You grab an inconspicuous ball cap and your prescription sun glasses, then head out the door.

A boat ride and 50$ fee later, found you inside a pristine white hall. It held many folding chairs to wait in, along with a bored looking secretary. Brockton Bay being the tourist spot it is many of the chairs were filled. The next tour would be fairly soon, so your arrival was well timed. There were photos of the local Wards group hanging off the high walls. You don't know the names of most of them, but you recognize some. Shadow Stalker is a personal favorite of yours. She's a recent addition, an under dog among legends. You followed her when she was an independent hero.

You aren't one to idolize someone, but if you were Shadow Stalker would probably be your idol. She has a strength of character that you can't help but admire. The way she takes a hard stance on crime, and her almost brutal efficiency in catching common criminals is nothing to sneeze at. You aren't ashamed to admit the way she pulls off the skin tight costume adds to her appeal. A lot of people have to use padding just to look half as good. Her legs are toned to an obsessive level. A physique you hope is earned from being a hero. She has curves that would make a model envious. You, however, have resigned yourself to being an eternal A cup like your mother before you.

Too busy staring at your not-idol you miss that the tour has started. You quickly jog to catch up. You ignore your guides droning on the history of the PRT, blatant propaganda that it is, and keep and eye out for the more secure side of the oil rig. You're lucky the crowd is so packed, or you might look suspicious with your ball cap tucked low, sunglasses on and head swiveling about.

You spot a door with a numbered keypad. Jackpot! although... maybe they like to keep their office supplies under lock and key. Taking another look to make sure no ones paying attention to you, you begin to lag behind and then stop. Looking around to make sure the halls clear, you enter a combination.

...1111...

Enter.

Alarms begin blaring. Red lights flash on and off. You hear doors slamming in the distance. Crap! you didn't think it'd go off with a single mis-entry. Stupid, paranoid Protectorate...

You will time to reverse. The sounds you heard feel like they're coming out your ears in reverse. You enter the wrong pin again, then walk backwards, all without your consent.

Time resumes just as your tour group passes the door. Its official, your life is a James Bond movie. You attempt to 'hack' the door again with the most methodical approach you can think of.

...1112...

Enter.

Alarms begin their high pitched whine, and you glare at the uncooperative number pad. Begging it with your eyes to give up its mystery's, to no avail. You wait patiently through the slamming of distant doors until you can reverse time again.

Again and again, you attempt to find the right 4 digit code. Forced to listen to obnoxious alarms, and door slammers alike. Then your prayers are finally answered.

...1130...

Enter.

Waiting for the now expectant alarms, you are genuinely surprised. The doors locks audibly disengage. The noise brings a smile to your face, nothing having sounded sweeter then the relief of over an hour of boring repetition. You realize it could have been much worse though. You practically skip through the door and find your self in another hallway. It's identical to all the other hallways in the building. You realize you may very well get lost in this labyrinth of windowless white hallways. However before that thought unravels your plans, you realize you have the perfect solution.

You walk straight down the hallway and walk down every offshoot you pass. You explore these offshoots for two minutes then return to your first hallway. With your plan you succeed in discovering much of the living quarters of the capes who operate here. You pass a communal area, a gym, some lab, but never a tinker workshop. You begin to second guess your plan, when you find something interesting. A retinal scanner! It's attached to a very secure and bulky steel door. You really are living a James Bond movie.

Before you can attempt to circumvent the door, you hear a voice behind you.

"This areas off limits to tourists. How'd you get back here?" The voice spoke.

Turning around you spot a tall man with a very masculine jaw line and a crew cut. He isn't wearing any official uniform or dressed up in costume, so you don't know where he gets off on accusing you of trespassing. He seems tense as if waiting for the moment you try and attack him. He also looks confident, like he belongs here. Maybe he's a part of the staff? You know an easy way to find out.

You grin at him, knowing he won't remember this. Then you reverse the flow of time, or possibly enter an alternate dimension, you don't know how it works. You could be destroying worlds and replacing them for all you know about the theory of time travel. No matter the method, you still find yourself 2 minutes away from being caught red handed. You walk down towards the retinal scanner and hide in a broom closet nearby. Then you wait. You can hear slow and steady footsteps pass by your closet. You try to keep quiet, but your heart won't shut up and you've never breathed louder in your life. Luckily, the footsteps pass by without slowing or pausing. You peak out of the door crack and see the casually dressed man who stopped you earlier. He lowers his head to the retinal scanner and the steel door begins to open. You jump at the chance! You grab something nearby and race towards him. He turns around, clearly shocked at not being alone. He doesn't react quick enough to stop his head from being hit by the fire extinguisher you grabbed from the closet. Ouch. You were aiming for his chest.

You've accidentally knocked out your would be accuser, you should really learn names before you reverse time. People in movies always walk off these head blows, so your sure he's fine. You sidestep your vic-obstacle, and come to exactly what you were looking for. A room filled with si-fi looking technology. You were bound to find it eventually, it was only a matter of... time... Even the jokes you make in your head are bad.

Your not entirely sure what you'll need, and you doubt you will ever get the chance to make a return trip. There's a spear on a stand that has thousands of little attachments. A mannequin fitted out with power armor sits in the corner. Ooh you recognize this one! Kid Wins hoverboard lies on the table, its internal components bare to the world. You stand around gapping at your bounty when you remember where you are. You quickly Decide on grabbing a few gun looking things and the lightest power armor equivalent you can find. You hope they don't need these. The fact that you don't recognize them means they probably don't see regular use.

Ready to leave and with your arms loaded down with your spoils, you take one last look around for anything useful. Nothing stands out, but that's because it all looks similarly high tech. Your eyes are drawn to the spear on the stand again. You think you remember Footmaster, or whatever that tinkers name, using it. You can't quite recall his name, but he's a very big deal. You reach out to touch it, and just as your fingers caress the shaft, it shocks you! You try to reverse time, but nothing noticeable happens before your vision darkens. You fall to the ground twitching dead to the world.

A/N: I won't be giving Emma a redemption arc. That doesn't mean Taylor will get her revenge though. She's as naive and directionless as she was in cannon at this point, she's just trying to find some escape from a bad school and home life. Trying to spy on the Undersiders without a plan was really a spur of the moment decision that I think really captivates her pre-badass character.


	4. Chapter 4

You woke tied to a chair in the same workshop you passed out in. Drool sliding down your chin. Your sunglasses and hat aren't with you anymore. The man who you knocked out is holding smelling salts in front of your face. You immediately understand you've been caught.

With no time to lose you use your power to reverse time. like usual time stops and unfolds backwards, however when your eyes close you just wake back up. You can't go back to when you were awake! Of course in hindsight, it makes sense you've been unconscious for more than minutes, but you've only ever viewed time subjectively.

"Good you're awake now. So maybe, you can tell me what. you. thought. you. were. doing!" He yelled out near your face. He's mad, that's fair.

You'll just have to explain yourself in terms he can understand. You needed this. Your very life might've relied on having some of the gear here. As useful as your power is for making sure events go your way. It can't make you immune to bullets, it can't dull the edge of a knife before it sinks into you. As useful as your power is. You're still that same insecure girl who's been bullied the past year. How did you ever expect to take on Brockton Bays criminal element?

"Oh, no! you have to help me find my way back. I got lost from the tour group!" You said with very real panic.

Out of all the reactions you were expecting openly laughing wasn't on the list. "Yeah sure! All the lost little girls usually try and brain the first guys they see. How about you try again. maybe before, I get bored enough to hand you over the PRT and let them sort you out."

You've always been really bad at lying... or talking to authority figures... talking to people at all. It's okay though! You can make sure this interaction goes your way.

Time flows as you will it, and you wake to a grumpy man waving smelling salts beneath your nose. Still tied to a sturdy metal chair in a tinker workshop. Your only weapon being a well phrased plea. Your doomed.

"Good you're awake now. So maybe, you can tell me what. you. thought. you. were. doing!" He yelled out near your face.

"Please sir! They have my dad hostage! I need to borrow this stuff or they'll kill him!" You yell out hopping this is the one time, a social interaction goes your way.

"Hahahaha! Do you know how many times some newly triggered cape, comes to steal tinker tech from us? Just because they think the good guys must somehow be a soft target. Some power hungry little snot, just like you, thinks they can waltz in here like its their local Walmart. No. I think some time in Juvey will do you some good. Make you more honest, maybe help you get your priorities right." He laughs just as obnoxiously as before.

You're surprised he knows you're a cape. He's not entirely wrong and that hurts. None of what he says invalidates your reasoning though. You want to fight crime, but on your own you'd get hurt or die. You would join his group for some protection, but you'd rather not enslave yourself to some uncaring authority. Lies aren't working, maybe try the truth? Worth a shot.

You reverse time to your sleeping self. You think maybe if you tried enough lies, he might buy one. but attempting blunt honesty costs you nothing.

"Good you're awake now. So maybe, you can tell me what. you. thought. you. were. doing!" He yelled out near your face. Ugh, you're sick of the smell of his breathe, you're sick of his disrespect for your personal space, You're sick of him and the high horse he judges you on.

"Look I'm going to be a rogue cape, fight crime, keep the streets safe. That kind of thing, but my power isn't good for direct confrontation. I need equipment to help me even the odds. Some of this stuff would help keep me safe and the people of Brockton bay safe. I'm a good guy, really!"

He's silent this time, no horrible laugh just silence. He stares intently into your eyes as he lowers the smelling salts. maybe it worked, He'll let you go now. He probably won't tell his bosses and you'll get your tinker tech.

"Okay." he says quietly. You knew you liked this guy. Clearly he can see you're an up and coming talent, and is willing to help you along the way.

"But I have some conditions, You'll join the wards on probation. You'll follow my orders and follow the chain of command. This isn't a game and people get hurt. Oh, and try not to steal anything. Your probation will end in 2 years, if you behave you'll be free to leave at that time." He spoke as if he was repeating a speech he'd memorized, dull and monotone.

You knew you hated this guy. You couldn't believe his gall. Follow his orders? at best he's some tinker that makes tech for the PRT at worst he's a janitor with clearance to clean up after tinkers. Why should you listen to any of his orders?

"No, I want to be a rogue hero. If I join the wards, I'll be forced to go to Arcadia." It'll be just like Winslow highschool, only everyone will be richer and the new bullies will have superpowers.

"Well that's too bad. You should've thought of that before you broke into a private building, and assaulted a staff member. It's either probation on the Wards team, or juvenile detention. Pick." He spoke with finality.

It was too much to ever expect this guy to bend. He'll never know where your coming from. It's either this or your dad finds out about all of this. So you nod, and speak out quietly. "Okay..."

"Great! I knew you'd see reason. We'll just clear this with your guardian and you'll be all set. Come with me I'll take you to our PR guy. She'll get you setup with a name and costume for your persona. I'm Colin, By the way. What are your powers anyway?" He said while cutting the ties bound the chair.

You were in a daze as you explained how your power worked. Your dad was going to find out either way. You don't think you could convince Colin otherwise. They're going to tell him no matter what,.Would he be angry, disappointed? You don't think your stomach will last long enough to find out. You upchuck all over the hallway. Oh god, this is embarrassing. Colin waves it away as something the cleaning staff will handle.

"Are you destroying the world and starting a new one a few minutes earlier? maybe traveling between parallel earths a few minutes apart? maybe predicting future events so accurately that it seems as if your traveling to the past when you finish seeing possible futures.? It's clearly paradox free, so that removes the possibility of any predetermined fate. unless it is parallel earths..." He goes on and on happy to talk about his favorite subject.

You don't think its any of his theories. It feels like some events are destined to happen. The way some events play out no matter what happens. You always cry on that school morning whether its from a nasty prank, juice staining your jeans, or knowing how hopeless seeing your mom again is. Some events just feel set. All roads lead to Rome.

Colin Led us into a large office with a desk and stereotypical office woman behind it. She looked very busy with piles of paperwork littering her desk and her typing furiously into her computer. You can tell it's getting late in the day from the light shining through whats probably the only window on this side of the base. It's getting hard to keep track of the passage of time with all the time travel, oh and getting knocked out.

"Ms. Peggy this is Taylor Hebert, 15 year old sophmore of Winslow high. Your picture looks great by the way, though you look much mature without the braces. Oh, don't give me that look I ran you through facial recognition software while you were napping. She has the power to travel 2 minutes back in time. She's joining the wards in exchange for amnesty." He said with far too much good cheer.

You're a bit miffed at the invasion of privacy, but you have no room to complain. Ms. Peggy is a slight woman with greying hair. She types away on her computer even as Colin talks to her. Rude.

"Amnesty? What did she do?" She spoke with a raised eyebrow.

"She knocked me out and broke into my workshop." Colin still had a smile on his face as he said it. Your eyes narrowed. He knew how uncomfortable this was making you.

"Time travel, huh? Prove it." She finally deigned to look at you. "I'm going to give you a phrase in 2 minutes come back to this moment and say it."

Colin snorted. "You think a 15 year old girl, sorry nearly 16, hacked her way through our security, evaded all our patrols, then got the drop on me? All without some sort of advantage? No offense, Taylor I looked at the calculator you programed in computer class, top notch work really. I don't think you'll be hacking through programs, made by Dragon herself, just yet though."

Your eyes widened, he was obviously a tinker. Too old to be Kid Win, so the other one... Armsmaster. You guess their jaws look sort of similar.

Ms. Peggy smiled cruelly. "Are you upset that you got taken out by a 15 year old girl? Hurt your ego did it? proven again how powerless you are out of costume?"

Colin had no rebuttal, but his smile was gone. He was back to being the grump who woke me up. He glared viciously at Ms. Peggy. Whatever she was referencing had probably gone too far.

"Tell me '3 minutes' , now go back." She spoke out while going back to her typing. I reversed time, standing through 2 minutes of convserations and fidgeting flowing in reverse.

Colin snorted and was just about to speak before you butted in. "3 minutes."

Her eyes darted to her computer and looked back. " I'm guessing you've never timed yourself. I was planning on giving you that phrase in 3 minutes. Its been 48 seconds since I made that plan. You can travel approximately 2 minutes 12 seconds backwards. Welcome to the wards. I'll get you set up with a code name and costume as soon as I'm done talking to your guardian."

"I can see you guys will be just fine without me. Good luck Taylor." Colin waved as he walked out.

Now your alone with a cruel bureaucrat. trapped in an office where she'll eventually sell you out to your dad. Your screwed.


End file.
